- Wednesday, April 24, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday (5) expressed happiness over the development work at Kedarnath in the Rudraprayag district of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand which faced Nature’s fury in the form of a devastating flood in 2013 which killed several thousands.
Modi, who was then the chief minister of the western state of Gujarat and was fast emerging as his Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial face for the national elections in 2014, said while addressing people at Kedarnath, “After the 2013 destruction, people who came here used to think will our Kedar Dham stand up again? But a voice within me always told me that Kedarnath would be redeveloped with more pride than ever before.”
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He added, “At the time, I was the chief minister of Gujarat but I could not stop myself and rushed here. I witnessed that destruction and pain.”
Speaking at Kedarnath. Watch. https://t.co/QtCLIbRZy7
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 5, 2021
Modi had stormed into the headlines then for initiating fast-paced rescue efforts in Uttarakhand which his opponents had alleged to be an act of publicity.
“I feel fortunate enough that we successfully initiated these development projects in Kedarnath. I was able to successfully initiate these development projects in Kedarnath due to my experience of handling earthquakes in Kutch in 2001,” Modi added.
Earlier in the day, Modi offered prayers at Kedarnath Temple, one of the most popular Hindu pilgrimage centres in India. This was his second visit to the temple after the one in 2019.
During his visit, the prime minister unveiled a 12-foot statue of Adi Shankarcharya at the premises of the temple besides inaugurating re-development projects worth Rs 130 crore (£13 million). The projects include: Saraswati Retaining Wall Aasthapath and Ghats, Mandakini Retaining Wall Aasthapath, Tirth Purohit Houses and Garud Chatti bridge on the river Mandakini.
Kedarnath, located on the bank of the Mandakini river, is one of the four ancient pilgrimage sites referred to as ‘Char Dham’ which also includes Yamunotri, Gangotri and Badrinath. It was built in the 8th century AD by Jagad Guru Adi Shankaracharya and is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
Uttarakhand has been under the rule of the BJP since 2017 but has seen three chief ministers till now and will head to the next elections in 2022.
